Unwanted Memories
by 13-Goth-Gyrl-13
Summary: Two-shot. One night Dionysus relives one of his least favorite memories. Sequel to 'Names'. T for swearing
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I got this idea when I was writing the one-shot 'Names'. I was wondering what Dionysus would have been treated like by his brothers and other family members since he was the only Olympian born a demigod. He was also the youngest and Hestia gave up her seat for him to be on the council, so there had to be some confrontation there (not by Hestia though, her being as sweet and kind as she is). I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: PJO is not owned by me. If it was…that would be a rather disturbing thought.**

Unwanted Memories

The young demigod shifted uncomfortably. He licked his chapped lips and swallowed. His hands fiddled with his lavender tunic. He subconsciously tucked a loose raven lock behind his ear. His gray-blue eyes gazed around the room nervously. He couldn't have been more than twenty-five and here he was, in the throne room of Olympus surrounded by the thirteen most powerful beings in the world. He had bowed and showed his respect to every god, including Hades, and goddess and stood in front of his father.

Zeus eyed the young man somewhat warily yet there was a hint of pride in the king's storm gray gaze. The Lord of Olympus looked no more than thirty and was adorned in royal blue robes with hints of gray. Atop his ebony locks was a golden laurel wreath. His expression was stoic, but the corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly.

His queen, however, did not look as pleased as her husband. Upon her beautiful countenance was a disapproving scowl and her chocolate eyes were filled with hate. Her dark hair was braided with gold and jewels resembling peacock feathers, and she wore a circlet made of woven gold. Her dress was red-violet with a slip of peacock feathers. She glanced at him once more then turned away disdainfully.

Poseidon's green orbs also seemed to scan over the demigod with interest. A crown of silver encrusted with pearls and even coral rested on his dark curls. His deeply tanned skin wrinkled a bit as he smiled at him. He laid back and smoothed out his sea green robes.

Despite his physique, Hephaestus seemed to be much gentler than some would think as he tinkered with what seemed like a fragile piece of machinery. A small fire lit in the black smith's beard and he brushed it away without a second thought. He wiped the machinery with a loose scrap of his charcoal robes.

Hermes ran a frustrated hand through his salt-and-pepper locks. His bright blue eyes looked over a message and his winged sandals and helmet fluttered nervously.

The war god seemed to intimidate and frighten the young man the most. He wore a malicious smirk across his scarred face. The fire in his eyes seemed to lick at the air viciously as he gripped his helmet closer to his side, the piece of armor nearly lost in his blood red robes.

Apollo seemed to be the most carefree of the gods as he leaned back against his throne. He plucked at a lyre mindlessly and hummed to himself.

In front of the hearth was the Lord of the Dead himself, Hades. The young man swallowed as the god's dark eyes were planted on him.

Hestia smiled kindly at him. For some odd reason, he felt warm and comforted just looking into her eyes. She appeared as a child no older that ten yet she was the eldest of them all.

Demeter took no notice in him as she played with some wheat. The vines of her throne seemed to fiddle with the hem of her evergreen dress.

Athena looked him over critically. Her face was as solid and hard as stone. He gulped as he stared into her eyes; they seemed to be analyzing everything about him.

Artemis paid him no mind. She just sharpened her hunting knife in her throne. Her robes shimmered like moonlight.

Most of the blood rushed to his face as he glanced at Aphrodite batting her long lashes in his direction. His knees were feeling weak as she puckered her lips into a smile. Her blush dress hugged her every curve seductively.

"Dionysus," the booming voice of his father called him out of his trance, "son of Zeus, we, the Olympian counsel, deem it appropriate to name you god of wine."

The young demigod's jaw went slack. "U—um, excuse m—me, my lord… Did you just say g—god?"

"Unless you're deaf, that's exactly what he said," Ares sneered before Zeus could open his mouth.

"Ares," Hera reprimanded, "you are not to interrupt Lord Zeus."

"Yes,_ mother_," he grumbled irritably.

"As I was saying," Zeus said as he glared defensively at Ares, "yes, a god, but not just _a_ god."

"Father," Athena asked quizzically, "what are you getting at?"

"I brought it upon myself to make Dionysus an Olympian."

An uproar of interjections arose from the other deities. Dionysus stood in the center of the room, dumbfounded, with his jaw practically on the marble floor. His heart seemed to be pounding on the walls of his skull and his stomach fighting to keep itself down.

"But, Father, that would unbalance the council entirely!" Athena tried to reason.

"Someone would have to give up their spot or something to make room for him, and that sure as Hades won't be me!" Apollo whined.

"Neither will I!" interjected Hermes.

"I'd sooner fade then give up my spot for that little piss ant!" roared Ares.

Immediately, the hearth erupted into a column of fire silencing everyone. The air hummed with tension as everyone turned their attention to the meek Hestia. She appeared very docile and calm in the form of a child. However, her eyes burned with an unknown determination.

"I will give up my place on the council for young Dionysus," she announced.

Zeus seemed quite taken aback, as did the rest of the gods. "A—are you certain of this, sister?"

A small smile graced the goddess's face. "I am certain, Zeus."

"B—but Lady Hestia…that would leave the council unbalanced still with only five goddesses and—"

Hestia gently cut off Athena, "But the council will remain an even twelve, as it should be."

After a moment or two of awkward silence, Zeus cleared his throat. "Then it shall be done. Hestia has given up her throne on Olympus for Dionysus."

The next hour felt like a blur to the young wine maker. He had become an all-powerful, Olympian god and he didn't even remember a second of it. A party was being held in his honor at the very moment, and yet he couldn't find any fun in it. With a wave of his hand he was able to turn simple grapes into the sweetest wine, but there seemed to be no joy for him. He was feeling self-conscious of himself from all the stares he was receiving. Some were of interest while others were of distaste. The most intense of gazes were from his brothers.

As Dionysus was leaning against one of the tables, alone, Ares marched up to him and shoved his face into his. "Don't get all high-and-mighty just yet, you got that? You're still nothing but a pathetic little piss ant. You want any respect, you earn it, and so far you haven't done shit. Do we understand each other?"

Unable to say a word as he was trying to keep his breathing in check, he gave a quick nod.

"Good," Ares sneered once more and stalked off.

"The brute isn't entirely off base," a soft male voice chirped off to his right.

Apollo and Hermes stood side-by-side with matching mischievous smiles. Something about the light in their eyes made the hair on the back of his neck rise uneasily. There was a small glint of curiosity, but a majority was of slight disapproval.

"Hestia was the most loved of all the gods," Apollo continued innocently. "And now she's gone and we have you to thank for that."

"Look, I didn't mean—"

"So if you want to be treated like you're actually a god, then prove yourself," he finished with a clipped tone.

"Plus," Hermes quipped, "it's always nice to have more victims—I mean, partners for our pranks, right Apollo?"

"Right, Hermes." With a quick flash of his teeth in a grin, they were gone.

Dionysus had to swallow hard to keep the bile from crawling up his throat. His knees her shaking uncontrollably and his whole body began to ache. Everything was coming in and out of focus until he ran. At the moment, anywhere but in that yard was a safer place to be. He blinked back his tears and choked back his fears. He kept running until his legs gave out under him. Air was pushed out of his lungs as quickly as it was pulled in.

~*0*~

Dionysus sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes snapped open. Sweat drenched his hot skin. Dried tears streaked his face. With a tired hand he massaged his face.

"Damnit, Morpheus," he cursed under his breath.

He uneasily sat up in bed and swung his legs over the side. A groan left his lips as he stood. He glanced out the window at the cloudless night sky before turning and heading out the door.

His eyes searched in a bored manner through the contents of the fridge before deciding on some grape juice. He took a swig from the bottle as a flicker of light to his right caught his attention. He turned to see Hestia sitting at the dining room table and nearly choked on the juice.

A soft snicker left her lips. "I apologize for startling you."

"No, no, no," he sputtered as he wiped the juice off his lips, "it's quite alright."

"Sleep well?" she asked after a second of silence.

"More or less," was his vague reply, though he could sense she knew what was troubling him. "It was just a dream."

"An unwanted memory, you mean."

His throat tightened. "Yeah…"

"You know I never regret giving up my seat for you."

"Really? Because I always regret taking it from you."

**A/N: And there you go. Another one-shot. If you guys want me to make another one or make this a two, or even three-shot, just let me know. Oh and can you guys please check out my poll? Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: You guys asked for it, so here it is. **_**Unwanted Memories**_** is a two-shot. In this chapter, there really isn't a memory, but there are mentions and hints of some. This chapter actually takes place when the gods are no longer seeing their children and that whole "ordeal", for lack of a better word. I hope you guys like it! And check out my poll please and thank you! **

**Disclaimer: PJO is not mine.**

Unwanted Memories

Chapter 2

Dionysus lay awake in his bed, his eyes staring intently at the ceiling in heavy thought. An inaudible sigh left his lips as he glanced to his left and smiled with contentment. Ariadne was sleeping soundlessly, curled against his side affectionately. To him, even when she was asleep, she was more beautiful than any other goddess, even Aphrodite, though he would never admit it aloud for obvious reasons. With a silent groan he stood, careful not to wake his wife, and walked down the hall, but not before giving her a quick peck on the temple first.

Olympus was so empty at such late hours it was almost surreal. The moon was high and washed everything in dim, silver light. Everything was dark and quiet, until Dionysus spotted a small light in the distance. The hushed tone of laughter brushed against his ear. With curiosity creeping into his consciousness, he continued his late night walk towards the light source.

As he approached, a gruff voice that could only belong to Ares called, "Well, if it isn't the old sot."

He squinted and noted how his brothers were all sitting around a fire pit in the middle of Demeter's garden. "Well, if it isn't Hellboy, Gear-Head, and Sunny and Cher."

"I am not Cher!" Hermes hissed, his face burning crimson. "Fine, there was that one Halloween, but that was years ago! I thought we promised never to bring that up again!"

"Babe, I got you babe," Apollo sang mockingly as he poked Hermes in the arm repeatedly.

A snicker left Dionysus's lips as he sat in between Hephaestus, who pursed his lips to hide his oncoming grin, and Ares, who was taunting and teasing Hermes through his gruff chuckles.

"So what's got you up at this hour?" Apollo asked through his lingering snickers.

Dionysus gave a limp shrug. "Dreams…"

"Us too," Hephaestus muttered. "Well…more like memories."

"Yeah," he breathed out deeply, "I know what you mean."

The brothers sat silently gazing at the fire dancing before them. Then a grin began to spread across Apollo's lips and a few snickers escaped.

"What's got you so giddy, Sunny Boy?" Ares asked, though his voice was much softer than it normally was.

"R—remember," Apollo giggled to Hermes, "wh—when we p—put that fake snake i—in Aphrodite's bathroom?"

The elfish god's brows furrowed momentarily before they rose and he bit his lip as a strange light filled his eyes. "Of course."

"Oh, I remember that," Hephaestus mused. "She screamed so loud, I could hear her from my forge. That woman has a set of lungs on her…"

"The funniest part was when she tried to murder you two," Ares chuckled.

The two jokesters shivered and Hermes said, "It's all fun and games until you get chased around Olympus by a pissed goddess of love who wants to castrate you…"

Dionysus looked between his brothers quizzically. "When was this?"

Apollo looked at him strangely before realization crossed his features. "That's right. You weren't around then. Let's see…this was around a century or two before you were born."

"You missed a lot," Hermes sighed as he leaned back on his hands.

"Like?" Dionysus prodded lightly.

"Well," Apollo drawled out, "there was that one time when Hermes and I were messing around with Hecate's magic…"

The two visibly winced as Ares and Hephaestus began laughing.

"What happened?" Dionysus asked, his tone anxious, as he sat forward looking between his brothers.

"Um, you see," Hermes continued, "we made a potion that was suppose to spill on Artemis when she entered the throne room for a winter solstice meeting when the plan…backfired…"

"And landed on Hades instead," finished Apollo with wide, frightful eyes.

Dionysus's mouth dropped to for a big 'O'. "And?"

"Let's just say you know when you're fucked when a severely pissed god of the Underworld whose skin sparkles gold chases after and swears on the river Styx"—thunder boomed above—"to feed you to Cerberus, then throw whatever remained of you into Tartarus."

"In rhymes," Ares choked out through his bouts of laughter.

"How are you two not dead?" Dionysus mused quietly as he looked between the two.

"I've asked father that very question," Hephaestus said, "and even he has no idea."

"It's 'cause we're special," Apollo pouted childishly.

"Oh yeah," Dionysus chuckled sarcastically, "you're so special you ride the short chariot."

The two narrowed their eyes as their brothers laughed harder. "You guys suck."

The laughter died down relatively quickly into a slightly awkward silence.

Then, out of the blue, Dionysus mused, "Isn't it nice to pretend?"

His brothers gave no reply; they just continued to stare into the fire.

"We act like nothing's wrong," he continued, "but we all know better. Even father knows but he's too foolish to admit it."

Hephaestus, Apollo, and Hermes glanced around nervously while Ares pursed his lips.

"There's nothing we can do about it, D," Apollo said softly.

With a groan, Dionysus fell on his back. He lazily gazed up at the stars in thought as he subconsciously ground his teeth in frustration.

"I hate being stuck up here," he sighed at last.

Hermes chuckled humorlessly. "You actually want to be back at camp?"

"No. I just…"

_I want to see my son_, he thought miserably.

_My sons_, from deep within his mind, Bacchus added quietly.

"It's nothing in particular. I know you're bored, too."

"You have no idea." Hermes sighed as he ran a hand across his face tiredly.

"I feel like a coward up here." Dionysus groaned.

"What's gotten into you?" Ares demanded. "You're starting sound like—"

"The little piss ant demigod I am?" Dionysus snapped. "Yes, yes I am."

Ever since that unwanted memory had plagued his mind that night, not much else crossed his thoughts. He squeezed his eyes tight and pleaded to no one in particular that the tears that were threatening to escape wouldn't fall. Never in front of his brothers would he ever cry.

"You're not a little piss ant, you dumbass," Ares said almost inaudibly, which surprised everyone including himself.

"Of course I am. You said so yourself." His voice sounded strained.

Ares gave a gruff huff of frustration. "That was thousands of years ago. I thought you forgot about that."

"How could I?"

Without a single word, Ares was on top of Dionysus. His legs were straddling his stomach and his hands were around his neck. In the process, Ares' glasses had landed somewhere in the grass. Staring into those flaming infernos made Dionysus feel like a pathetic child, especially with Ares' thumbs pressing against his Adam's apple. Their brothers were staring worriedly with wide eyes.

"You're such a child," Ares sneered through gritted teeth.

"And you're such an asshole," Dionysus countered shakily.

They just sat there staring at each other. Their gazes never left the others. The longer they sat there, the more years seemed to slip off of them until they were teenagers. Ares' eyes softened, as did his hands until they were simply resting on Dionysus's throat, as he noted the tears gathering in the corners of his brother's eyes.

A melancholy smile spread across the war god's scarred lips. "You really are a child, you know?"

Dionysus seemed surprised by the gentleness his usually aggressive brother was showing. He found his mouth opening on its own accord, but he quickly closed it and bit the inside of his cheek. He shut his eyes tightly for a moment to block the oncoming tears, and then opened them to find Ares replaced by the star filled sky. His head shifted to see him sitting in his previous spot still in the form of a seventeen, eighteen year old. His glasses were set on top of his head.

"You are something else, D, y'know that?" Hephaestus sighed softly.

Dionysus turned his head to see his other brothers had also taken on the form of teens. After another moment, he sat up and stared at the fire. He seemed to be unable to look any of his brothers in the eyes, for fear of what he would do. He could feel their gazes on him, which caused the hair on his arms and neck to stand on end.

"You look pretty sad when you're trying not to cry, Dionysus," Hermes said deathly serious.

Dionysus's breath hitched as he was unable to hold it in any more. He bit his tongue to keep from screaming, but a small whimper still left his lips as the tears began to pour uncontrollably. He pulled his legs close to his chest and nestled his face in between his knees. His shoulders shook with every ragged breath he drew and every whimper and cry that left his throat. Nearly three thousand years worth of pain was on his shoulders.

Minutes passed before he was able to speak again. "I hated you for so long…then I started to hate myself…"

His brothers said nothing. They looked too dead to.

"I never thought I was your brother…just a pest…" His voice was gravely and hollow, as if his heart had been ripped out shortly after he swallowed gravel. "You guys never wanted me anyway."

"You really are an idiot." Ares' usual tone returned momentarily.

"Am I wrong?" Dionysus looked up with bloodshot eyes worse than any time he drank.

"Yes," all his brothers said without missing a beat.

Dionysus's mouth gaped. "Th—then why all those centuries of t—"

A ghostly smile played sadly at Apollo's lips. "You should know by now painful it is to be immortal. We wanted to teach you sooner rather than later."

"I guess we forgot how much more fragile you were," finished Hermes dreadfully.

Dionysus shook his head inconceivably. "Y—you bastards…"—They all seemed to flinch at how sharp his words came out—"and to think I hated you for all those years and all you were doing was trying to protect me…"—a small, gentle smile tugged at his lips and more tears spilled—"You guys are the worst best brothers I could have ever asked for…"

**A/N: I'm going to stop there or else I'm going to start bawling my eyes out. I hoped you liked the wonderfully sad brother bonding and I'm sorry for the OOCness. I had to connect in this story with Dionysus because I'm the same way. I keep everything bottled up inside and pretend to be happy because I don't like to worry other people. I know it's extremely unhealthy, but I still do it. This is probably the most tear-jerking thing I've written so far. Review and tell me what you think please. **


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